Many people injure their backs while bending or lifting objects in the wrong way. A recent survey taken by the American Physical Therapy Association reports that nearly two-thirds of the Americans experience low back pain, and nearly half of the cases are due to improper bending and lifting techniques.

As we get older, we are more likely to hurt our back while bending or lifting to put something up or down. The reason to this is that as we get age our muscles and ligaments became less flexible; also, past injuries of the muscles, ligaments or spinal disks make us more prone to having a back injury. Along with back pain, improper lifting technique can lead to arm pain and leg pain, and can cause acute injury with serious long-term effects.

The good thing about this is that these injuries are avoidable. All you need to do is learn and practice proper lifting and bending techniques.

The sad thing is that most people are aware of this, but rarely perform these techniques. They are ready to risk injury, instead taking the time to perform lifting activities properly.

According to this, the importance of safe lifting techniques cannot be understated, so we decided that it’s time to talk little about how to avoid these injuries.

So, here you will find fewessential tips to help you protect your spine from painful and unnecessary injuries.

What Is Safe Lifting and Bending?

Often, safe lifting emphasizes protecting the back. But the approach is more comprehensive and includes several main focuses.

First and foremost, you should be aware of your lifting limit, and try to stay within it. In order to prevent injury, don’t lift items that are too heavy for you.

The next crucial component is protecting the back, or more precisely, protecting the joints of the spine. Proper lifting techniques and strategies come into play here in order to decrease the risk of injury.

And lastly, consider the strength, mobility, and position of the knees and feet. Depending on the size and weight of the item you are lifting, foot placement, knee and hip alignment should be taken into consideration.

How Heavy Is Too Heavy?

It is important to know how much you can safely lift. No one can give you a precise weight of how much you can lift, but think about how much you have lifted in the past and how easy or hard that was and you’ll have your answer.

And although weight has big impact on the risk for a back injury, alone is not that much dangerous. Even if you don’t lift heavy objects, you can still get an injury. If you are not careful, you can strain your back even when lifting something as light as a pen.

According to the Center for Construction Research and Training, other factors that determine the risk, include:

How often you’re lifting something

Bending and twisting while lifting

Whether you hold an object away from you while lifting

How high you’re lifting an object

How long you lift or hold the object

When talking about heavy lifting, it is important to note that back belts do not decrease the risk of injury. It is common for many people to wear back belts or a back support when lifting, but according to the researches, back belts do not decrease the risk of a lifting injury. And because of this, they are not recommended. So, instead of relying on a back belt, next time try to use good lifting technique and only lift objects that aren’t heavier than you would lift without a belt.